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WheN the hURLYbURLY’S DONep. 12: Witches(Act 1, Scene 1)‘when this commotion is over’

OF the ReVOLt the NeWeSt Statep. 14: King Duncan(Act 1, Scene 2)‘the latest news of the rebellion’

bROILp. 14: Malcolm(Act 1, Scene 2)‘chaotic battle’

UNSeameD hIm FROm the NaVe tO the chOPSp.16: Sergeant(Act 1, Scene 2)‘cut him in half, from the navel to the chin’

O FROm that SPRING WheNce cOmFORt SeemeD tO cOme, DIScOmFORt SWeLLS.p. 17: Sergeant(Act 1, Scene 2)‘then this promising upturn in our fortunes prompted a setback’

SURVeYING VaNtaGep. 17: Sergeant(Act 1, Scene 2)‘perceiving an opportunity’

FURbISheD aRmSp. 17: Sergeant(Act 1, Scene 2)‘reinvigorated strength’

thaNep. 20: Malcolm(Act 1, Scene 2)a Scottish title, equivalent to the English ‘Baron’

teRRIbLe NUmbeRSp. 21: Ross(Act 1, Scene 2)‘terrifying amounts of troops’

DISmaLp. 21: Ross(Act 1, Scene 2)‘ominously dreadful’

cRaVeS cOmPOSItIONp. 24: Ross(Act 1, Scene 2)‘seeks to negotiate terms’

DISbURSeDp. 24: Ross(Act 1, Scene 2)‘paid out’

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bOSOm INteReStp. 25: Duncan(Act 1, Scene 2)‘intimate trust’

PILOtp. 26: Witches(Act 1, Scene 3)the helmsman of a ship

WeIRDp. 27: Witches(Act 1, Scene 3)eerie; morally wayward; prophetic

StaNDS NOt WIthIN the PROSPect OF beLIeFp. 31: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 3)‘lies beyond any conceivable prediction’

the INSaNe ROOtp. 32: Banquo(Act 1, Scene 3)i.e. a mind-altering narcotic

UNDeR heaVY JUDGmeNtp. 35: Angus(Act 1, Scene 3)‘under sentence of death’

caPItaLp. 35: Angus(Act 1, Scene 3)‘deserving of the death penalty’

IN DeePeSt cONSeQUeNcep. 36: Banquo(Act 1, Scene 3)‘with the direst of consequences’

SeateDp. 37: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 3)‘securely lodged’

mY thOUGht, WhOSe mURDeR Yet IS bUt FaNtaStIcaL, IS SmOtheReD IN SURmISe.p. 37: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 3)‘My rational mind, where the idea of murder is still grotesque, is frustrated by my imagination’

WIthOUt mY StIRp. 38: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 3)‘without the need for me to do anything about it’

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NeW hONOURS cOme UPON hIm, LIKe StRaNGe GaRmeNtS, cLeaVe NOt tO theIR mOULD bUt WIth the aID OF USe.p. 38: Banquo(Act 1, Scene 3)‘Those newly bestowed rewards sit as awkwardly on him as a brand-new suit of clothes, which will only be comfortable when they’re worn in.’ Banquo’s simile (‘strange garments’) is one Shakespeare uses throughout the play – nowhere so hauntingly as when Angus describes how the trappings of power Macbeth has murderously stolen ‘hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief’ (p. 163, 5.2).

WROUGhtp. 39: Banquo(Act 1, Scene 3)strained; overtaxed

OUR FRee heaRtSp. 39: Banquo(Act 1, Scene 3)i.e. in a spirit of frank affection

haRbINGeRp. 42: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 4)‘herald’

the mILK OF hUmaN KINDNeSSp. 47: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 5)‘humanitarian instincts’: in contrast to such kindness, learned at the mother’s breast, Lady Macbeth later tells us she will ‘pour my spirits’ in her husband’s ears (p. 48); invokes the forces of evil to ‘take my milk for gall [= bitter bile]’ later in the scene (p. 51); and still later denies her own capacity for maternal feelings (p. 65, 1.7). The fact that the couple are childless is important to the plot (see p. 101, 3.1).

PLaY FaLSe . . . WRONGLY WINp. 48: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 5)‘actively cheat . . . dishonestly succeed’

cROWNp. 50: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 5)i.e. the top of the head

KeeNp. 51: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 5)‘sharp’

PUt . . . INtO mY DISPatchp. 53: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 5)‘hand over the arrangements to me’

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SOVeReIGN SWaY aND maSteRDOmp. 53: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 5)‘the absolute authority and power of royalty’

ONLY LOOK UP cLeaRp. 53: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 5)‘just make sure your gloomy thoughts don’t cloud your facial expression’

DeLIcatep. 54: Banquo(Act 1, Scene 6)‘exquisitely pleasing’

IF It WeRe DONe, theN It WeRe WeLL DONe QUIcKLY. IF the aSSaSSINatION cOULD catch SUcceSS, thIS bLOW mIGht be the be-aLL aND the eND-aLL heRe.p. 58: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘If the deed has to be done, then let’s get it over with: Duncan’s successful murder will draw a line under everything else.’ That is the gist of Macbeth’s words in the original play, though Shakespeare reflects his guilty mental anguish there by elaborating the speech into a knotted tangle of sound and sense:

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere wellIt were done quickly: if th’assassinationCould trammel up [secure by netting] the consequence, and catchWith his surcease [ending] success; that but this blowMight be the be-all and end-all here . . .

We bUt teach bLOODY INStRUctIONS WhIch, beING taUGht, RetURN tO PLaGUe the INVeNtOR.p. 59: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘Yet the murderous orders we issue end up rebounding on us when they are carried out’

thIS eVeN-haNDeD JUStIce cOmmeNDS the POISONeD chaLIce tO OUR OWN LIPS.p. 59: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘So if the impartial fates present us with an elaborate goblet, it will be poison rather than wine that it contains’

tRUmPet-tONGUeDp. 61: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)i.e, with the voice of a divine clarion call

bReaK thIS eNteRPRISep. 64: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘broach the subject of this undertaking’

bUt ScReW YOUR cOURaGe tO the StIcKING-PLacep. 66: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘Just ratchet up your bravery to the furthest tension it can endure’

cONVINcep. 66: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘overcome’

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ShaLL be a FUmep. 66: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘will be as hazy as smoke’

WheN IN SWINISh SLeeP theIR DReNcheD NatUReS LIep. 67: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘when they are drunkenly snoring like pigs’

UNDaUNteD mettLep. 67: Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘indomitable spirit’ (with the added sense of ‘impregnable armour’)

WhO DaReS ReceIVe It OtheR?p. 69: Lady Macbeth(Act 1, Scene 7)‘Who will be so bold as to interpret it in any other way?’

a c t t W O

heaVY SUmmONSp. 71: Banquo(Act 2, Scene 1)‘weary fatigue’

KNeLLp. 75: Macbeth(Act 2, Scene 1)i.e. the tolling of a church’s bells for a funeral

GROOmSp. 76: Lady Macbeth(Act 2, Scene 2)i.e. male servants

UNbeNDp. 81: Lady Macbeth(Act 2, Scene 2)dismantle; weaken; undermine

GILD . . . GUILtp. 83: Lady Macbeth(Act 2, Scene 2)Note the terrifying pun (‘guilt’/‘gilt’) with which Lady Macbeth salves her conscience by likening the King’s spilt blood to decorative gold: Macbeth himself later uses the same imagery – and the same rhetorical strategy – when explaining why he has killed the innocent grooms: ‘Here lay Duncan, laced [= patterned] with his golden blood’ (p. 92, 2.3).

NePtUNep. 83: Macbeth(Act 2, Scene 2)i.e. the Roman god of the sea.

mULtItUDINOUS . . . INcaRNaDINep. 83: Macbeth(Act 2, Scene 2)‘innumerably vast . . . stain crimson’

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baDGeDp. 91: Lennox(Act 2, Scene 3)‘prominently marked’

OUR SePaRateD FORtUNe ShaLL KeeP US bOth the SaFeR.p. 94: Donalbain(Act 2, Scene 3)‘We’ll both be safer if we take our own chances and go our separate ways’

thIS mURDeROUS ShaFt that’S ShOt hath NOt Yet LIGhteD.p. 95: Malcolm(Act 2, Scene 3)‘Not all the arrows that the murderer has fired have yet hit their intended targets.’

What GOOD cOULD theY PReteND? / theY WeRe SUbORNeD.p. 96: Ross / Macduff(Act 2, Scene 4)‘What possible motive can they have had?’ / ‘They must have been bribed.’

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ORacLeSp. 98: Banquo(Act 3, Scene 1)i.e, fortune-telling prophets

WaIL hIS FaLLp. 104: Macbeth(Act 3, Scene 1)‘mourn his death’

thINGS WIthOUt RemeDY ShOULD be WIthOUt ReGaRD.p. 106: Lady Macbth(Act 3, Scene 2)‘There’s no point thinking about things we can do nothing about.’

ScOtcheDp. 106: Macbeth(Act 3, Scene 2)slashed; wounded

thINGS baD beGUN maKe StRONG themSeLVeS bY ILL.p. 107: Macbeth(Act 3, Scene 2)‘The only way to get away with one crime is by committing another’

GIVe the cheeRp. 112: Lady Macbeth(Act 3, Scene 4)‘toast our guests’

O PROPeR StUFF!p. 115: Lady Macbeth(Act 3, Scene 4)‘What absolute rubbish!’

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DOUbLe, DOUbLe, tOIL aND tROUbLep. 122: Witches(Act 4, Scene 1)The Three Witches’ ritual incantations are famously sinister and mysterious: do they ‘double’ (accelerate) their dancing paces around their magical bubbling cauldron? Or are they literally ‘stirring things up’ as they ‘double’ (compound) the misery of this world’s ‘toil and trouble’?

FILLet . . . FeNNY . . . WOOL . . . PRIcKINGp. 122: Witches(Act 4, Scene 1)‘sliced strip . . . marsh-dwelling . . . fur . . . tingling’

the ROUND OF SOVeReIGNtYp. 126: Macbeth(Act 4, Scene 1)i.e, the circular crown of Scotland

tO the cRacK OF DOOmp. 129: Macbeth(Act 4, Scene 1)‘until the Last Trumpet of doomsday’

POINtS at them FOR hISp. 129: Macbeth(Act 4, Scene 1)‘acknowledges them, by his gestures, as his own descendants’

FIRStLINGSp. 132: Macbeth(Act 4, Scene 1)‘firstborn instincts’

thINGS at the WORSt WILL ceaSe.p. 135: Ross(Act 4, Scene 2)‘Things can only get better’

FRY OF tReacheRYp. 139: Murderer(Act 4, Scene 2)‘traitor’s spawn’

cISteRNp. 143: Malcolm(Act 4, Scene 3)pool; tank; reservoir

be NOt a NIGGaRD IN YOUR SPeechp. 150: Macduff(Act 4, Scene 3)‘Don’t be so miserly with your words’

DeSeRtp. 150: Ross(Act 4, Scene 3)empty; deserted, isolated

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DISPUte It LIKe a maNp. 152: Malcolm(Act 4, Scene 3)‘Try to come to terms with such news with as much human strength as you can muster’

be thIS the WhetStONe OF YOUR SWORD!p. 152: Malcolm(Act 4, Scene 3)‘Let these events sharpen the edge of your revenge!’

RIPe FOR ShaKINGp. 153: Malcolm(Act 4, Scene 3)i.e. like a fruit that will drop from the branch with a simple push.

the NIGht IS LONG that NeVeR FINDS the DaYp. 153: Malcolm(Act 4, Scene 3)‘The darkest hour is right before the dawn’

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mOVe ONLY IN cOmmaND, NOthING IN LOVep. 162: Angus(Act 5, Scene 2)‘only obey his orders from a sense of duty, certainly not from any affection for him’

thIcK-cOmING FaNcIeSp. 170: Doctor(Act 5, Scene 3)‘waves of delusions’

thROW PhYSIc tO the DOGS! I’LL NONe OF It.p. 171: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 3)‘Then medicine be damned! I want no part of it.’

baNep. 173: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 3)‘mortal ruin’

PROFIt aGaIN ShOULD haRDLY DRaW me heRep. 173: Doctor(Act 5, Scene 3)‘not even the promise of financial reward would lure me to serve here again’

hOStp. 175: Malcolm(Act 5, Scene 4)‘army’

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maKe DIScOVeRY eRR IN RePORt OF USp. 175: Malcolm(Act 5, Scene 4)‘ensure that sightings of our presence will be mistaken’

Let OUR JUSt ceNSUReS PUt ON INDUStRIOUS SOLDIeRShIP!p. 175: Macduff(Act 5, Scene 4)‘May the justice of our cause lend strength to our fight!’

LaUGh a SIeGe tO ScORNp. 176: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 5)‘humiliate the forces that besiege us’

PettY Pacep. 179: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 5)‘meaningless progress’

LIGhteD FOOLS the WaYp. 179: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 5)‘illuminated the inevitable route that, like idiots, we must all take’

DOUbt the eQUIVOcatION OF the FIeND that LIeS LIKe tRUthp. 183: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 5)i.e. fear the double-meanings used by the Devil to ensnare us – the same ‘juggling [cheating] fiends . . . that palter with [deceive] us in a double sense’ Macbeth later exclaims against (p. 196, 5.7).

theY haVe tIeD me tO a StaKe. I caNNOt FLY, bUt beaR-LIKe I mUSt FIGht the cOURSep. 188: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 7)This is a reference to the barbarous ‘sport’ of bear-baiting, popular in Shakespeare’s London, by which bears were tethered to a central post (‘stake’) in an arena and set upon by dogs in a succession of rounds (or ‘courses’).

thOU LOSeSt LabOUR.p. 195: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 7)‘You’re wasting your time.’

the ShOW aND GaZe OF the tImep. 199: Macduff(Act 5, Scene 7)‘the latest popular sensation’

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aS OUR RaReR mONSteRS aRe, ON a POLep. 199: Macduff(Act 5, Scene 7)‘exhibited in a tent like a fairground freak-show, with a signpost outside’

LaY ONp. 200: Macbeth(Act 5, Scene 7)‘set about it’

GO OFFp. 201: Lord Seyward(Act 5, Scene 7)die; ‘pass on’

cOmPaSSeD WIth thY KINGDOm’S PeaRLp. 203: Macduff(Act 5, Scene 7)‘surrounded by the élite of your country’ (with a pun on ‘crowned’)

bY the GRace OF GRacep. 205: Malcolm(Act 5, Scene 7)‘by the allowance of all-graceful God’